“It is the first time in the country’s 75-year history that a state budget has been stopped. Why are you angry with the people of Delhi,” Kejriwal wrote. “The people of Delhi are pleading with folded hands, please pass our Budget,” he said.
In the latest development that has escalated the face-off between the Centre and the Delhi government, Aam Aadmi Party was virtually stopped by the Union ministry of home affairs from presenting its annual budget in the Vidhan Sabha over queries on its proposed expenditure on advertisements and publicity in the 2023-24 financial year.
“The Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, had raised certain concerns of administrative nature on the proposed Budget, keeping in view the fiscal interest of the National Capital Territory on which MHA vide its letter dated March 17, 2023 has requested GNCTD to resubmit the Budget addressing these concerns for taking further action. The reply from GNCTD is awaited for last four days,” read the MHA statement.
We have responded to MHA’s concerns and submitted the file back to Delhil’s LG, after CM’s approval, at 9pm today.… https://t.co/JM7j0qZFQQ
— Kailash Gahlot (@kgahlot) 1679330467000
The Delhi government, however, claimed that the budget allocation for advertisements and publicity was the same as last year and it had proposed to spend almost 40 times more on infrastructure development. “The concerns raised by MHA are irrelevant and this has been seemingly done only to scuttle the budget,” said Delhi finance minister Kailash Gahlot.
The Centre and the Kejriwal government in Delhi which have been at loggerheads on various issues, has now again entered into a new tussle after the Aam Aadmi Party alleged on Monday that the Ministry of Home Affairs stalled the government’s Budget 2023-24 which was scheduled to be presented on Tuesday in the Delhi Assembly.
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Delhi Budget 2023-24 delayed, Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM, blames Centre